The Girl Made of Zeros and Ones
by Ethia
Summary: Nathan Taylor has just won a special deluxe, limited edition avatar for his newest Pokemon game. Pokemon Rainbow. What journey awaits him in this new MMORPG edition to the Pokemon franchise.
1. Release Date

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of this and I'm not trying to sell any of it.**

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**Chapter 1: Release Date  
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Pokémon!

Just thinking about it gets my heart racing. I've been an avid player since the _Red _and _Blue_ versions came out, owning at least one game from each generation. I've had the _Red, Yellow, Silver, Ruby, LeafGreen, Pearl, Platinum, SoulSilver, Black, White 2, Grey, Orange, Maroon, _and_ Purple _versions, but now, the ultimate version is coming out. The version where you can catch every single Pokémon but only if you're good enough. _Pokémon Rainbow. _The name sounds silly but it does make sense. After a franchise that has based its game titles after various colors, of course the super deluxe version would be called Rainbow.

I have trouble containing my excitement; my leg is shaking noisily under my desk, beating against the bottom of the table and shaking my unused pencil box, a blank notebook lying open in front of me.

"Nathan Taylor if you don't settle down this moment I'll make you stay late after school!" My teacher hollers at me from the smart board at the front of the class.

"Yes Ma'am, sorry," I say sheepishly, I wouldn't stay even if she threatened a month's worth of detention. The idea of missing out on playing _Rainbow_ is more than I can bear. There's something else about the Rainbow version that makes it so much better than the others. It's an MMORPG.

And, in celebration of the game's release date (I already purchased it but players can't go online until today) a single special edition avatar was given away as a random prize for whoever bought the Rainbow version before today. The winner of that special edition avatar was me, and the avatar itself is none other than Player Red from the original games.

And not just Red, but Satoshi himself; I get to play the limited edition, one person exclusive, Satoshi quest. In this Pokémon MMORPG players can choose which region they want to start off in and then they select their starters based on their region. From there they travel through their own region battling against gym leaders, competing in various contests, going on mini quests, forming parties and meeting up with friends.

A player can of course go to different regions but it's not like jumping through a portal, you have to travel through the deep terrain that surrounds the different regions and is filled with strong and sometimes rare Pokémon. Well, _rare-ish_, the legendary Pokémon are supposedly really hard to get so that not everyone has one. Easier ways to jump from region to region are supposed to be presented as the player continues through their own region.

None of that matters though. What matters is that I'm Satoshi, I'll be playing in the Kanto region, and my starter Pokémon will be Pikachu.

I fight the grin growing on my face. No telling what the teacher will say to me is she realizes I'm not paying attention. Just thirty more minutes and I'll be riding my bike home, ready to start my new adventure.

Once the bell rings I exchange books in my locker then head outside and unlock the padlock keeping my bike safe. I do everything so fast that physical objects seem to blur. I wish I was that fast but still, in less than five minutes I've already started peddling home.

The large box that my Pokémon Rainbow game came in includes extraordinary virtual reality goggles; this game is supposed to have graphics similar to the Final Fantasy movies. I'm not sure how the Pokémon themselves will look but I'm definitely eager to find out.

My parents aren't home once I arrive. I slip into the house and up the stairs into my bedroom where I wake my computer from standby and put on the goggles, which I've already set up. Once I'm comfortable I log in.

˪WINNER! PLEASE SELECT YOUR REGION: _ ˥ The computer reads to me. Under the words is the subject "REGION" with a Japanese flag next to it and a drop box arrow. I select the arrow and a line of flags appears. Seeing as how I live in the USA I select my country's flag and then hit enter, which directs me to the next page.

I can see my avatar. It looks like a semi-realistic version of Satoshi, and the name Satoshi is even highlighted over his head. Apparently players can have different accounts; which makes sense, but my mouse won't move, probably because the game is changing all of its settings to match the new region. As the loading comes to an end the name Satoshi changes to Ash Ketchum. _'Great…' _I think bitterly. All the names are going to be region based now too, and I wanted my character to be named Satoshi.

Deciding not to let the change get me down, I select to start the game. At least my avatar will be named Satoshi in other regions.

The screen goes dark for a few seconds until an opening movie begins playing. Various characters from the anime and games, including my avatar, stream across the screen, all of them looking three dimensional and real compared to their original cartoon selves. Then the Pokémon. Finally I get to see the Pokémon. The different starters from all of the regions play across my goggles, coming in from one side, and disappearing out another. They too are semi-realistic, but it doesn't look bad. They still look animated but with a more other worldly feel to them. Only the first evolutionary stages are shown and, since I'm in the Kanto region, the only legendary Pokémon that make an appearance in my starter movie are Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres.

Once the video is over I awaken in my bedroom.

For a second I have to remember that I'm in a game, but the window in my room is open and I feel like I can actually feel a light breeze coming in through the window. Then I remember that my window is open in the real world too.

'_Cool.' _

I go to the computer in my room and shake the mouse. There are two options: ˪POKEMON STORAGE˥ and ˪ITEM STORAGE˥. A '1' is next to the ˪ITEM STORAGE˥. I select it and it brings me to the inventory which says I have one potion. I withdraw the potion and part of the desk opens up so the potion can come out. I grab it and it automatically goes to my 'pocket'.

The mechanics for the game are definitely flowing nicely so far. I head out of my room and go down the stairs to find my mom.

"Ash honey," she says to me. Running over towards me and giving me a big hug. "Be careful while you're gone on your journey and make sure you say 'hi' to Prof. Oak for me when you go to get your Pokémon."

I select an option that reads: ˪WILL DO MOM˥ and continue out of the house.

"Why hello Ash," Prof. Oak says to me when I walk into his lab. For fun I had tried to leave the town without a Pokémon but a Mr. Mime wouldn't let me. Could it be my mom's Mr. Mime from the anime?

˪HELLO PROF. OAK. I'M HERE FOR MY POKEMON˥

"Ah yes, do I have the one for you." He pulls out a Pokéball and prepares to hand it to me; before I can grab it though my screen jumps to a limited edition cut scene.

'_So cool!'_

"Hey Gramps! That Pokéball better be for me. Or did you forget that you promised me a Pokémon?" Shigeru… Gary Oak… Blue… Whatever he is in my game, is my rival….

'_So cool!" _

Gary, as he's called in my region, storms over to us and snatches the Pokéball out of Prof. Oak's hand. If this is like the original _Yellow_ version then I already know what Pokémon that is.

"Now Gary, settle down, I still have a Pokémon here," Prof. Oak tries to say.

"Whatever Gramps, Ash can have the other Pokémon." He says before turning towards me. "Once you've got your Pokémon meet me at the edge of the village so we can battle." Great, I needed to go that way anyway. He brushes his fingers through his hair cockily and leaves the building, ending the cut scene.

"Sorry about my grandson," Prof. Oak says. I suppose you're just going to have to take this. He digs through his pocket and hands me Pikachu's Pokéball, the lightning bolt sticker is on it and everything. The ball shakes and opens up, revealing my beloved Pikachu.

"Pika-chu…." Pikachu grumbles, obviously upset about the entire thing. Don't worry buddy, I'll take care of you. After saying goodbye to the Professor, I set out towards the edge of town where I find myself battling Gary.

"I choose you, Eevee!" He yells and throws his Pokéball up into the air, summoning out one of the most adorable creatures I've ever seen.

My Pikachu runs towards it for a Tackle. The battle is short and pathetic, with the Pokémon being so low leveled, but the experience is fun and the graphics are amazing. I'm almost reminded of the stadium games but this definitely out classes them. Gary storms away and I continue out of Pallet Town with an extra P.175.

I actually feel like I'm walking through a small forest. Sometimes I even think that I've glimpsed a Pokémon out of the corner of my eye. Next thing I know a Pidgey has hopped in front of me. It pecks at the ground and then flies away before I can challenge it so I decide to chase after it. Was it trying to flee? And why would a Pidgey flee anyway?

After a couple of minutes I've come across a river and decide not to chase after it. I can see what's in the water and I don't want to get caught up in too many battles while my Pikachu is already a bit weak from its fight with Eevee.

Then I see her.

I never thought she would be so attractive. But here she is; a character out of an anime I used to watch when I was a little kid, with graphics so high quality she almost looks like a real person. Kasumi… Or Misty I guess since I am in the region I'm in.

"Oh, hi there," she says in that cheerful voice from the old anime, just like the other characters so far.

"Hi there," I say aloud without realizing it. The automatic voice recognition software kicks in.

'_This game is so cool.'_

"Who are you?" she asks.

"My name is Ash."

"I'm Misty." She looks at me for a second and then stands up from her spot on the river bank, apparently she was fishing. "Are you a new trainer?"

There were different options for how I could respond, options that would be similar to the anime, and even an option that would help get rid of her so I could just keep journeying alone.

"I am," I say.

She giggles and skips over to me, putting her overall strap back over her shoulder after it fell down her arm. Her fleshy, real looking arm… "Well I am a very strong trainer. If you'd like, I could accompany you on your journey. It's boring traveling around alone in my opinion."

"S-s-sure," I stutter.

"I'm sorry, I didn't understand that."

"I'd love for you to accompany me," I say.

"Great. Your Pikachu doesn't look too good so maybe the first thing we should do is head to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City so you can heal it," she smiles at me sweetly.

"Sounds good to me," I say. Then I hear my door open.

"Nathan? Who are you talking to?" My mom says.

"Just someone in the game," I answer. I take my goggles off and turn to my mom. I'm a little dizzy from the vision switch.

"Turn that off and do your homework, Nate," she says, brows furrowed, before slamming my bedroom door.

I turn back to the game and bring up the save screen; Misty's voice echoing "good-night" through my ears as I exit out of the game. Until next time Misty.

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**AN: Nathan Taylor comes from the voice actresses who do the voice of Ash in the english dub of the anime. Veronica _Taylor _and Sarah _Natochenny_. Nathan... Natochenny... I see the similarity lol the both start with _Nat... _lol :P  
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	2. A New Way to Battle

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of this and I'm not trying to sell any of it.**

**AN: So yeah... I know that I mention Taylor more than Ash really but that should hopefully just be for this chapter. We'll see how it goes. I'm still trying to get a feel for how I want to write this so this chapter is more about little intricacies in regards to how the game is played then anything else. With that being said, hopefully I can get the plot to pick up in the next chapter heh heh. Sorry bout the delay btw, but I just couldn't figure out how I wanted this to go.  
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**Chapter 2: A New Way to Battle  
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After Nathan finished his homework and ate a quick dinner with his family he headed to his room and logged back on to his computer. He knew better then to start playing _Pokémon Rainbow_ again, because he would get absorbed back into it and wouldn't end up sleeping, so instead he surfed around on his computer, jumping from the PokémonWiki to Bulbapedia. He was surprised that he had met Misty so early in the game, having thought that she would just be a gym leader, but his personal story-mode was more like the anime then he originally thought it was. At the same time, he hadn't fried her bicycle like the real Ash had.

"_I wonder if I'll meet Team Rocket…_"

He looked around the maps and characters in his surrounding area, trying to determine the best Pokémon to catch and trying to determine who he'd end up fighting. Eventually though, the need for sleep got a hold of him and he shut his computer down and staggered off to his bed, collapsing heavily onto the mattress and falling asleep almost immediately.

**xxxxx**

Nathan rushed through the school day and quickly made his way home. He had barely paid any attention to the other teachers, just focusing long enough to turn his homework and jot down what homework he had for the night. All throughout school his leg shook under his desk in anticipation for another chance to continue his adventure online, and as he rode his bike back to his house he raced there faster than ever.

His parents gone again, Nathan bounded up the stairs and into his room. His index finger bumped the power button on his computer. As the machine began to turn on, Nathan pulled out what little was left of his homework. At lunch he hid away from his friends and worked on his homework within the library. He skimmed through his English and placed presumed answers onto the paper where designated. After the computer was loaded he turned on the game, which also took time to load, and then finished what was left of his English homework.

"_All I have now is to read five chapters, and I can do that before bed," _Nathan thought to himself as he pulled the book out of his bag and tossed it onto his bed. _"Awesome, it's loaded."_

He clicked on his avatar _Ash _and then clicked start. His Pikachu sat in the middle of the loading screen, looking worn out and pissed. "Well that's interesting," Nathan thought. The black loading screen faded away and soon he was looking, through his goggles, up at a cloudless blue sky and a yellow sun.

"Hiya Ash, about time you woke up," Misty's song-filled voice said from Nathan's right. He looked over and gasped awkwardly. Her body was iridescent in the glow of the sun that was shimmering off of the river they sat close to.

"Hey Ash!" A high pitched voice yelled from within the woods. Both Nathan and Misty looked towards the voice. A girl, who looked twelve, stood with a hand on a tree, a Squirtle at her side, and a Pidgey on her shoulder. "You're him aren't you? You're the one playing the _Ash _quest?"

Who was this girl, with her Pokémon bandana, black shorts, white Pokémon jacket, and black hair doing interrupting his play time with Misty?

The girl trudged through the tall grass and walked over to them. "My name is Rachael Knotz, and I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" She exaggerated her actions, moving her outstretched arm in front of her body quickly, her other hand on her waste, and a finger pointing at Nathan. Then her hand moved a few inches to the side and pointed at Pikachu. "I know it's an electric type guys, but it's weak so do your best! Squirtle, use Tackle!"

Nathan jumped out of the way as Rachael's Squirtle lunged towards his Pikachu and tackled him. A health bar appeared over his Pikachu, going from slightly green and full and draining until it was a sickly yellow color. "Pikachu, use your Thunder Shock attack!" Pikachu glared at him, but seemed to think there was nothing better to do so it clenched it's fists, lowered it's head, and emitted a shock of electricity that ripped through Squirtle's body, all while muttering "chuuuuuu."

A health bar appeared near Squirtle, draining from full and green to a point where it was yellow so orange that it was almost red.

"Squirtle, Tackle again!" Rachael yelled and the Squirtle, now immensely slower, headed in Pikachu's direction."

"Pikachu, use your Thunder Shock again," Nathan said. It was weird seeing a battle as realistic as this, and he was taken aback by Squirtle's slowness.

"Chuuuu!" Pikachu said, zapping Squirtle before it could tackle him.

"S-Squirtle?" Rachael said. Both she and Nathan were looking at the events shocked. They were going to need a lot more strategizing in the game if the Pokémon were able to attack without the need to wait turns. "How is that possible?"

Nathan turned to Misty. "Um… Misty? Do you know why my Pikachu was able to attack her Squirtle so quickly?"

"Well everyone knows that. Pikachu has more energy at the moment and so his recovery time to create an attack, especially an elemental attack like his Thunder Shock, is faster than Squirtle who was both slowed by his drained energy and performing a more physical attack.

"Pidgey, use tackle!" Rachael said, interrupting; she'd heard Misty's explanation and was determined to get a hit on Pikachu. "Then stay up in the sky!" The Pidgey smacked into Pikachu and then soared a few feet into the sky.

"Argh!" Nathan said frustrated, "that was a cheap shot! Pikachu use your Thunder Shock again!" Pikachu revved up and emitted a shock of electricity.

"Dodge it and use tackle again!" Rachael said. Her Pidgey avoided the shock and flew down towards Pikachu and tackled it again; Pikachu's health bar draining to a blood red color.

"Come-on Pikachu! Don't you see that little Info-and-Health bar floating next to that Pidgey? You're two levels higher than it _and _you have a type advantage!" Nathan yelled angrily. He wasn't about to let this random girl, with a weaker Pokémon, and whose types were weak against his own Pokémon, beat him.

"Pidgey tackle!" The Pidgey soared down towards Pikachu again.

"Pikachu, Growl at it!" Nathan said. Pikachu, on all fours and with it's tail raised, growled angrily at the Pidgey who faltered in air, caught off guard. "Thunder Shock!" Electricity flew out of it's body again and zapped the Pidgey, which dropped from the sky, unconscious.

"Oh darn-it!" Rachael said as she held up her Pokéballs and summoned her Pokémon back inside of them."Oh well, good fight Ash."

P. 120 added to Nathan's money from his victory.

"Ash, you really need to heal your Pikachu. Let's hurry to Viridian City," Mist said to him.

"Why Viridian City? Palette Town is closer and you can heal your Pikachu either at your mom's house or with Professor Oak," Rachael said.

"Good point. Come on Misty," Nathan said.

The three of them walked back into the forest, in the direction the Nathan had come from.

"Why are you still here? I thought you automatically spawn at a Pokémon Center after you white out… Or black out… Whatever the term is now…" Nathan said.

"Not anymore. We humans have our own Hit Bar and can take a little damage. The game gives us the chance to make it to a Pokémon Center on our own, but if we get attacked and our health fades to zero we faint and a cut scene appears," Rachael explained. "I can't believe you get the _Ash _quest and you're such a noob."

"The game has only been out for two days! You're a noob too," Nathan argued.

They had reached Palette Town and after a few minutes both of their Pokémon were healed.

"Is that the real Misty?" Rachael asked as the three of them headed back onto the route laden with trees.

"I'm Misty," Misty said.

"Lucky, undeserving—" Rachael muttered under her breath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't understand that," Misty said.

"Why are you still traveling with us?" Nathan asked. He wanted it to be just him and Misty. He didn't want this girl tagging along.

"I can't get passed Danny, I was hoping you'd help me," Rachael said.

"Who's Danny?" Nathan asked.

"Are you a trainer?" A voice said from in front of them. A little boy with greased-back hair, wearing a uniform and thick glasses, and carrying a brief case stood before them; a Pokéball in his hand.

"That's Danny," Rachael said.

"I challenge you to a two-on-two Pokémon battle!" He threw his Pokéballs (there was now two of them) into the air and released his Pokémon; a Name Tag appeared next to him saying _School Kid Danny_.

"You can set the screen so that the Name Tag appears on all your opponents but right now it's just for computer-players," Rachael said. She threw a Pokéball, "Go Squirtle."

"Go Pikachu!" Nathan said.

"Go Jinx! Go Electabuzz!" Danny said.

On one team was Pikachu, level five, and Squirtle, level seven. On the other team was Jynx, level thirty-one, and Electabuzz, level thirty-one.

"I'll give you the honor of going first," Danny said.

"If I had known that _school kid _was going to have such a strong Electabuzz I wouldn't have chosen Squirtle as my starter," Rachael said. She sounded stressed.

"Why are they so strong?" Nathan asked.

"Because the creator of Pokémon always meant to have the games include a lot of social interaction, so we _need _to team up to fight opponents like this."

"We aren't strong enough for this, not with your type disadvantage, we need help," Nathan said.

"Are you asking for help Ash?" Misty asked. "I'll have a type disadvantage against his Electabuzz but I may have a Pokémon that's stronger than his."

"Care to back down?" Nathan asked Rachael who shook her head and withdrew her Pokémon.

"Go Starmie!" Misty said. Her purple star-shaped Pokémon appeared beside Pikachu; it's Info Tag reading: level 43.

'_Holy crap I have to fight something like that during our gym battle?' _Nathan thought.

"Starmie, use Confusion Ray!" Misty said. Starmie sent a beam at Electabuzz, who began humming and then held onto his head as though he suddenly had a terrible headache.

"Pikachu use growl," Nathan said. He was pointing at the Jynx so Pikachu rushed over to it and growled. Jynx shied away from the Pikachu.

"Starmie, Confusion Ray!" Misty was now pointing at Jynx and Starmie sent the beam to Jynx, who began stumbling.

"Ok Pikachu, use Thunder Shock on the Jynx."

"Starmie use Swift on the Electabuzz!"

Pikachu began to attack the Jynx who looked like she both wanted to run in fear but also stand up and fight. The Electabuzz tried dodging the stars that Starmie was summoning, but kept tripping over itself. Pikachu and Starmie continued to attack over and over while Danny tried to snap either of his Pokémon out of their confusion, to no avail.

The fight dragged on until Misty finally knocked out Electabuzz. Danny recalled him and sent out his last Pokémon, a level thirty-one Magmar, but before he could give the Magmar an order Misty had ordered Starmie to attack it with Water Gun. The Magmar fainted after another hit of water and then she began attacking the Jynx; Pikachu had run out of power to use its Thunder Shock and was not whipping its tail at the Jynx excessively. Pikachu had lowered Jynx's defence enough that Starmie was able to finish it in three hits.

"Oh man it's finally over," Nathan sighed. The battle had left his Pikachu and Rachael's Squirtle enough experience to jump four and two levels respectively. They also both earned P.120.

A thud sounded from downstairs and Nathan heard the familiar voice of his mother walking to the kitchen.

"Crap, sorry guys but my mom's home so I have to get off," he hurriedly logged out of his game and jumped onto his bed, opening his book right as his mother came into his room to check on him.


End file.
